Lionel Messi's new home: Barcelona unveil new Camp Nou design

By Chris Murphy, CNN

Updated 1502 GMT (2302 HKT) March 9, 2016

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Photos:A new home for Messi

The Camp Nou stadium, home to Spanish champion Barcelona, is getting an upgrade and the club has released images of the new design. Work is due to completed in the 2021/22 season. "The proposal stands out for being open, elegant, serene, timeless, Mediterranean and democratic," a club statement said.

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Photos:A new home for Messi

Japanese firm Nikken Sekkei will work alongside Catalan studio Pascual i Ausió Arquitectes on the project, which will increase the Camp Nou capacity to 105,000. The club stipulated that every seat should have a "perfect" view of the pitch, and be sheltered from the elements.

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Photos:A new home for Messi

Barcelona's star player, Argentina striker Lionel Messi, has scored 307 goals for Barcelona. He'll be 33 by the time the stadium is completed. Will he still be turning out in blue and red by then?

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Photos:A new home for Messi

The club statement went on: "In short, it is a unique solution, reproducing the characteristic vision of the grandstand and canopy, from the inside out, a silent and powerful tribute to the stadium built by Francesc Mitjans in 1957."

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Photos:A new home for Messi

Mitjans worked on the original design with Josep Soteras Mauri and Lorenzo García Barbón.The original stadium cost 288 million Spanish pesetas which left the club in debt for years after. Its current capacity is 99,354.

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Photos:A new home for Messi

The stadium has witnessed many a celebratory occasion, none more so than last season when the club won the treble, clinching the Spanish league title, the Spanish Cup and the European Champions League. This season Barca is eight points clear in La Liga already.

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Photos:A new home for Messi

The Camp Nou has a chapel next to the dressing rooms. Former manager Bobby Robson is pictured inside the chapel in 1996.

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Photos:A new home for Messi

The Barcelona statement added: "It is also notable for its relationship with the environment, providing depth, creating shadows and making members the stars of the facade and of the open area at all times."

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Story highlights

Barcelona unveils plans for its new Camp Nou stadium

Design by Japanese firm Nikken Sekkei chosen by Barca panel

Work is due to start in 2017 and be completed in the 2021/22 season

(CNN)Lionel Messi is getting a new home, and it is every bit as sumptuous as the outrageous skills he regularly exhibits on the pitch.

Spanish champion Barcelona's iconic three-tiered Camp Nou stadium opened in 1957 and 59 years on a nine strong panel assembled by the Catalan club has selected Nikken Sekkei from an initial 45 bids for the ground's redevelopment. The Japanese firm will work alongside Catalan studio Pascual i Ausió Arquitectes on the upgrade.

Work is due to begin in 2017 and is scheduled for completion in the 2021/22 season. It will seat 105,000 and aims to provide a fitting cathedral for the dynamic football Barca has become synonymous with in recent years.

Described by the club as "unique" the renovation will reportedly cost in the region of $710 million, with Barca expected to sell the stadium's naming rights to help fund the new construction.

"The proposal stands out for being open, elegant, serene, timeless, Mediterranean and democratic," a club statement said.

"It is also notable for its relationship with the environment, providing depth, creating shadows and making members the stars of the facade and of the open area at all times.

"In short, it is a unique solution, reproducing the characteristic vision of the grandstand and canopy, from the inside out, a silent and powerful tribute to the stadium built by Francesc Mitjans in 1957."

Excited about the project that we've chosen for the Camp Nou of the future. Good news for Barça fans everywhere #NouCampNou